Invasive Species Council of British Columbia

Who We Are

The Invasive Species Council of BC is a registered charity and non-profit society that is making a difference in the lives of all British Columbians.

ISCBC is a dynamic action-oriented organization, helping concerned stakeholders work together to stop the spread of invasive species in BC. We lead efforts encouraging people, businesses, government and industry to adopt simple practices that can make a huge impact in preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species.

Vision

Healthy landscapes and communities free of invasive species.

Mission

To take action to build healthy landscapes, including habitats and communities, through education and responsible practices to prevent the spread of invasive species. 

Board of Directors

Our hard-working directors and committee members bring perspectives from all walks of life to help us achieve our vision.

The Invasive Species Council of BC’s Board of Directors is selected by our membership at the Annual General Meeting. Directors on the Board represent one of three Chambers; government, community or business and industry. Within each Chamber, the Board strives to have the representation of a diverse range of background interest areas. 

Dave Bennett, Past Chair

Business & Industry

TRANSPORTATION & UTILITIES


David A. Bennett is the Director, Communications and External Relations for FortisBC. He is responsible for corporate and customer communications and public affairs including municipal, provincial and federal government and Indigenous relations and manages consultation on major infrastructure projects.  David has been involved in the energy industry for over 30 years. He is a Director on the Surrey Board of Trade, the Private Sector Co-Chair of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, a member of the Executive Committee and Policy Chair of the National Electricity Roundtable and past Chair of ISCBC.

Nadia Chan, Chair

Governments

LOCAL


Nadia Chan has over 20 years of experience working in urban forestry. She is currently the Manager, Trees and Landscape with the City of Surrey’s Planning and Development Department. Nadia is a Director with the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia, the Pacific Representative for the Canadian Urban Forestry Network, and the Chair of BCIT’s Forest and Natural Areas Management Program Advisory Committee.

Harold Aljam

Business & Industry

AGRICULTURE


Harold is the Economic Development Officer for the Coldwater Indian Band. He grew up on the Paul’s Basin IR 2 and is a 4th generation farmer, raising a commercial herd of beef cattle. Additionally, he has served on Band Council for over 30 years as Chief. Harold says that it is the love for cattle ranching that keeps him involved in agriculture.

Dave Holden

Governments

FEDERAL


Dave Holden is a survey biologist with the Plant Health Surveillance unit of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. For regulated plant pests like Spongy moth, he is responsible for survey design, coordination with outside partners, training and outreach for plant health surveys conducted from BC to Manitoba. Dave has been passionately trying to keep out unwanted invaders in Canada for the last 17 years. 

Jonathan Holmes

Governments

Indigenous


JJ is the Operations supervisor and safety officer with Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation based in Merritt, BC. When it comes to invasive species, JJ fulfills many roles, including educating and coordinating training for employees to become Certified Pesticide Applicators. JJ works with a wide variety of organizations and First Nations communities to increase awareness of invasive species impacts. With lots of boots on the ground, he is keen to promote is stewardship of the land and protection of food sources and medicinal plants. Away from stewardship, JJ is actively involved in the local Minor Hockey league. 

Shauna-Lee Chai

Governments

Provincial


Shauna-Lee is the Director, Plant Health Unit with the Government of BC. She passionate about working on wicked problems, and about seeing the big picture. Shauna-Lee has worked in the field of invasive species for 15 years covering a variety of species from invasive White-tailed deer in Jamaica to invasive plants in Alberta. Currently, at the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food, she is responsible for client service, stakeholder engagement and strategic planning at the Plant Health Unit.

Sarah Nathan, Vice Chair

Government

Community & TrANspor


Sarah is a Registered Professional Biologist and the Provincial Manager of Conservation Programs in BC for Ducks Unlimited Canada. Her work includes seeking new ways to protect wetlands in BC by controlling invasive plants such as Yellow flag iris, Reed canary grass, Russian olive and Himalayan blackberry, and preventing the establishment of invasive animals such as the American bullfrog. Sarah is passionate about developing solutions to conservation problems that incorporate the concerns of a wide range of people, while ensuring a high degree of acceptance and success.

Eric Nijboer, Past Chair

Business & Industry

Natural Resources


Eric is an Operations Manager with Spectrum Resource Group Inc. based in Prince George where he primarily focuses on invasive plant management and operational fuel management/wildfire hazard reduction projects. Eric is a Registered Professional Biologist in both Alberta and BC (RPBio, P.Biol.), and carries a B.Sc. in Biology and Chemistry from Brock University with a focus on Plant Biotechnology. Eric has been engaged in invasive plant management since 2007.

Eamon O’Donoghue

Governments

Provincial


Eamon O’Donoghue grew up in Toronto where he attended the University of Western Ontario graduating with his undergrad in political science. In 1991 Eamon moved to Valemount, BC, where he attended the University of Northern British Columbia, studying Natural Resource Management. Eamon started his career with the BC Public Service in 1991 as a Park Ranger in Mount Robson Park. He moved on to join the Land Use Coordination Office, then onto Regional Executive Director where he served the Skeena Region for 10 years. In October 2018 Eamon was appointed into his current role as Assistant Deputy Minister of the North Area in the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.

Scott Pearce

Business & Industry

TRADE & RETAIL


Scott has been involved in the nursery industry for 40 years, with a diploma in Landscape Horticulture from BCIT and experience working in both the wholesale and retail nursery trades. Scott has been a partner in GardenWorks, with ten garden centre locations, since 2007. His responsibilities include plant purchasing, merchandising and marketing. GardenWorks has been working with ISCBC for the past 12 years, involved in the PlantWise and Grow Me Instead programs.

Nicci Bergunder

Business & Industry

Transportation & Utilities (Local)


Nicci Bergunder is the Pacific Regional Advisor, Indigenous Relations at Defence Construction Canada, the Crown Corporation that delivers infrastructure and environmental projects for National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Nicci is also the founder and Managing Partner of Encompass, a consultancy centred on Indigenous Relations and Economic Development.

Dan Tisseur

Business & Industry

TRANSPORTATION & UTILITIES


Dan is a Senior Environmental Advisor for Enbridge. He spent a decade as a freshwater biologist working for an environmental consulting firm with assignments throughout BC. Dan has a BSc in Natural Resource Management, a MSc in Environmental Practice, and is a Registered Professional Biologist. His work gives him great insight into industrial perspectives related to invasive species management and he has a great appreciation for the diversity and sensitivity of the various habitats across BC which could be threatened by the impacts of invasive organisms.

Steve Thomson, Treasurer

Business & Industry

Agriculture


Steve has a long record of service to the community and of working on behalf of BC ranchers and farmers. He represented Kelowna Mission as the MLA from 2009 to 2020 and served as Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources and Rural Development. Steve is the former executive director of the BC Agriculture Council. He has served with the BC Fruit Growers Association, the BC Milk Producers Association, as the President of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and as a director of the Kelowna Museum. Steve loves sports and is dedicated to his family.

Sophie Dessureault

Governments

Local


Sophie is the Integrated Pest Management Coordinator for the Vancouver Park Board. Working in this role since 1997, she develops and implements policies and procedures to deal with the various pest problems found in the city’s many facilities, parks, and plantings. Most recently her responsibilities have included managing projects such as developing the Vancouver Park Board’s Invasive Species Management Strategy and completing a city-wide invasive plants species inventory.

Alec Dale

Community

Environmental conservation


Originally from Enderby, BC, Alec Dale has lived across Canada and now calls Victoria, BC home where he has lived for the past 22 years. He holds an undergraduate degree in Zoology and a Masters in Aquatic Ecology. Now retired, Alec has spent the past 20 plus years working in the BC Public Service across many aspects of resource and ecosystem stewardship. He has extensive experience working with invasive species and monitoring their impacts, both biological and economic, including leading an Invasive Mussel Defense Program for the Province of BC. As an aquatic ecologist he has a great fondness for freshwater planted aquariums but of course follows Don’t Let it Loose best practices.

Val Miller

Governments

Provincial


Val Miller is the Provincial Invasive Plant Officer for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development and the chair of the BC Inter-Ministry Invasive Species Working Group. Based in Nelson, she works with a team of Invasive Plant Specialists and technicians to address invasive plant challenges on public land. A registered professional agrologist with a B.Sc. in Range Management from the University of Idaho, Val has been actively working in invasive plant management and biological control projects in British Columbia for over 30 years.

Jennifer Robertson

Business & Industry

TRANSPORTATION & UTILITIES


Jennifer is a registered Professional Biologist with over 30 years of environment consulting and energy utility experience in BC. She spent 15 years in the field as a Fisheries Biologist on small and large scale projects across BC. Many of the fish and fish habitat enhancement projects that she was responsible for involved invasive species management. Her current role is Director, Sustainability & Environment at FortisBC where she leads a team of environmental and sustainability professionals for the organization. Her team provides corporate environmental oversight for the organization including aquatic and terrestrial resource management and vegetation management.

ISCBC LEADERSHIP TEAM

Everyone working with the ISCBC team, from our Executive Director to our volunteers, brings their enthusiasm to our work.

Gail Wallin

Executive Director

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Gary Goodwin

Director

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Dave Ralph

Senior Manager, Operations

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Tamara Slobogean

Senior Manager, Communications

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Dave Walkem

Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships

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Tina Benard

Office Coordinator

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Nick Wong

Manager, Science & Research

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Lindsay Barnett

Manager, Planning

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Lauren Bosch

Manager, Engagement

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Fawn Wiebe

Manager, Finance

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Bronwen Fordyce

CFO/COO

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